Page 37 of Kane's Bounty
“Curious,” Rose said. “And the fact that the two visions were exactly the same is very odd.”
Lena thought about it. “That’s true. I have never seen two identical visions before.” Kane and Joshua both stood up from the table at the same time.
“We have a problem,” Joshua said and went to the living room.
The hair on her arms stood up again. “Kane?”
“Banta,” was all he said. He walked to the windows at the side of the house, pushed the frilly curtains aside and peered out.
“What’s a ‘banta’?” Bill asked.
“He’s a who,” Lena said.
Joshua returned from the living room. “Mr. Flack, do you have a cellar or a bomb shelter?”
Bill was on his feet and taking the shotgun from where he’d leaned it in the corner of the kitchen. He opened a top cabinet door and pulled a box of shells out, while saying, “We’ve got both. The bomb shelter is still dry. I was down in there just about a month ago. It’s out back about a hundred yards into the woods. The cellar is down those steps.” He pointed to a door off the kitchen.
“Mrs. Flack, can you grab some water and a bit of food? Should only need enough to get by for the day,” Joshua said.
Peggy nodded and went to the pantry.
Joshua turned to his brother. “Well, little brother, you’re going to have to go it alone. I’ll stay here while you and Lena lead them away. They likely won’t be interested in us for more than a few hours once Lena’s gone. Take the car, it’s bulletproof. Get out of here and leave it somewhere.”
Kane nodded. “I’ll manage, Josh. You keep these people safe.” They embraced quickly and Kane looked back to her.
She ran into Grandmother’s arms. “Gran, you take the stones. I’ll come back for them.” She thrust the stones into her grandmother’s wrinkled hand. “If I’m captured, at least they will be safe.”
Rose nodded and hugged her again. “Lena, we’ve got to get out of here.” Car tires sounded down the long drive. They only had a few moments before the house would be surrounded.
Peggy returned from the pantry with two sacks that looked heavy.
Joshua took one of them and Bill the other. They started toward the back door.
Bill turned back. “Lena, you could take two horses and get as far as Max’s farm. Just leave them there and take one of Old Max’s cars. He won’t miss it for days and I’ll explain when I can.”
“Good idea, Uncle Bill.” She took one last look at Grand as they moved out of the house toward the bunker hidden in the woods.
Kane gripped her hand and tugged her through the mudroom and they ran in plain sight down toward the barn in an effort to draw Banta away from the house.
The barn door rolled easily open on its track. Lena opened a stall and pulled a bridle down. She saw Kane do the same in the next stall out of the corner of her eye. It only took seconds to get the bridle on the bay, but it felt as if it was an hour. She could hear the car rolling closer. No time for a saddle, she swung up onto the horse’s back and gave him a nudge toward the door. She ducked under the doorframe and kicked a bit harder toward the woods leading west.
Kane was beside her an instant later. She hadn’t even asked him if he could ride, let alone bareback. However, he looked as comfortable on the gray as any horseman she’d ever seen.
Halfway across the field, she heard gunfire and pulled the reins back. “Gran!” The horse reared up on its hind legs. She had to grip hard with her knees to keep from falling.
Kane yelled. “They’re shooting at us, Lena. Your grandmother is safe. Joshua won’t let anything happen to them. Come on.”
She looked back to verify if he was right. The white sedan had gotten stuck in the muddy, rutted field. Four people stood shooting at them with the car doors still open.
She saw Troth Banta run toward Bill’s ATV. He was bigger than the rest and she could easily make him out, even dressed in all-black armor.
She kicked her horse into a gallop and headed toward Max’s farm. There was a thick wooded area between Wilmar Farm and the nearest road. She could hear the loud motor of the ATV gaining on them once they reached the woods and had to slow the horses down.
Lena knew these woods. She’d spent her youth riding and playing in them. Her mother and grandmother had brought her here every summer and she remembered the terrain as if she’d only been gone a week. She found an old trail that was not too overgrown and brought the horse back up to a lope. As a kid, she had crossed these woods and trotted down the country roads with friends.
The motor sound got louder. A shot was fired.
“Shit!”
